Yemen's Ali Abdullah Saleh has decided not to return to his homeland due to fears of being prosecuted like Egypt's ousted ruler Hosni Mubarak. Sources said the Yemeni leader would not come back because of the pressure by Washington, report said on Monday. Over the weekend, the US envoy to Sana'a spoke about "secret negotiations" which take place with Saleh, and also between Saleh and the opposition. The ambassador denied accusations, by some of the young protesters, that Washington is interested in the war against "Al Qaeda" more than ending Saleh's rule.

On Saturday, Saleh reportedly left a hospital in Saudi Arabia two months after being wounded in an attack on his palace.

On Sunday, thousands of anti-regime protesters held demonstrations in Yemen's southern city of Taez to call on the army to protect their popular revolution.